Promoting Christine's work / ensuring women find out the truth about prolapse

I love the car sticker idea

Sue

you know, louise, these are truly awesome ideas. awesome.

i have to say, though, that some of these might feel a little daunting to some, as i guess what i'm doing is to others. from the moment i was diagnosed with this, i have been telling virtually ALL women about what i'm going through. i hide nothing. now, certainly, part of that is my natural personality in that i don't like to keep things in. but a lotof that is fueled by anger and my desire for other women to know all about this. so that at first there was this real sense of being damaged about it to me, about somehow seeming sexually neutered because of this, i've pushed through that and, interestingly, find myself feeling far more sexual than i have in a long long time. (and i know this is off topic, but does anyone else notice not only a libido surge with doing this work but a dramatic increase in orgasmic intesity? that's another thread, i know, which i will start in the next few days -- hope it won't offend anyone to get that topic going but i do think it's important and empowering to acknowledge.) and, actually, i have spoken about that increase -- at least for me -- in sexual intensity as it does feel totally related to this work and it's a great big fat perk that i want to talk about!

so that's what i've been doing so far. really, telling all the women i know about this issue, talking about the "easy" surgical repair fix doctors like to talk about, and then, most importantly, the work on this site. it's amazing that really no one knows about it and it's all making me feel very empowered, frankly.

as to oprah, as a former publicist, i can tell you that it's near impossible to get on there. i think it would be smart to also think smaller venues, such as radio shows and more local tv to start with. of course, if someone has a direct connection to oprah -- or, frankly, any of the morning national/local talk shows, THAT is that way to go. these shows are bombarded with blind submissions daily so a direct connection to usher it through the process is the ideal. anyone? oh, another thought, christine, might be jane brody of the new york times science section. she tends to present really balanced pictures of things and that might be an amazing forum to start with. (she, herself, underwent hip or knee replacement -- i can't remember which now) and wrote a two series piece about how her recovery was much longer and more painful that here doctors informed her it would be -- it was clearly critical of that lapse of information and went on to tell her readers quite honestly about what her recovery looked like. i just have a feeling she would be a receptive audience for this sort of thing.

xxsusan

there is a saying in christianity that says; be a friend, make a friend, and bring a friend to christ. hope no one is offended when I tell you that my motto is; be a friend, make a friend, bring a friend to Christine.:)
All my friends and family know about my prolapse- I shared the web site with everyone and told my midwives about it. My closest friends are all standing in the posture now- I even told my massage therapist.
I know some day I will go the extra mile and reach out to strangers too- but for now I am making a difference one woman (or man believe it or not) at a time. B

I agree with you Susan.
My Dx was post partum so there was the natural waiting and then because of this we waited a bit longer...the PT was helpful that way! somewhat and knowing I wouldn't hurt myself my having an intimate life I really needed that info and got it from the women here! Very important!--Especially you dear Louise...you have a way of being funny and confident that I needed to hear!!
I felt this was just another "problem" in that area for me!
I have experienced abuse in my life and this dx brought back the same old feelings of being frightened--instead of from without, from within!
But...actually it was the best thing that happened for me. I could recognize those old fears and really talk to my husband. What is funny is I don't know if things are just in a better place physically? or emotionally but I was NEVER orgasmic and now I am.
Also, my husband is different. He is a better lover because he is EVEN more gentle and kind to me and then because of his gentleness and kindness I feel more loving towards him...
Our romantic life is definately better at this time because of prolapse period and the women here and I am changed. I can't really get mad about it for me. I know things can change future wise but I don't feel panicked like when it first happened. If my husband was able to react postively this time around I know he can in the future...I also know I can!
I do get mad inside when I think there are others who maybe won't sit here on the computer for 5 hours straight until they find Christine as I did that first night after the Gyn said "You NEED surgery"

I LOVE this topic and I love your suggestions Louise! You have such a way of educating, motivating, and enlightening us all.

I have toyed with setting up a support group for a while wheere I live. My PT said she has dozens of patients with prolapse. Now I need to stop toying and start doing!

i am so glad you raised these issues. i have been wrestling with the challenge of spreading the word. as someone posted earlier, i have been sharing my experience with anyone who will listen. i figure, perhaps they have a problem they are not addressing, or perhaps they know someone else who does, and i can lead them here! my bigger problem is in approaching my doctor. when i saw the urologist, i knew immediately that she had ZERO interest in alternative approaches and as i don't plan to see her again, i didn't bother. i love my my ob/gyn & he is known for a practice that supports birthing without medical interventions. however, i fear that he will bristle if i suggest that his recommendation of doing kegels & probably needing surgery after menopause was WOEFULLY inadequate. he actually told a friend of mine with prolapse that vaginal hysterectomy is often the best course of action!!! this is a man to whom i have felt very close over the years & trusted deeply. to be honest, i worry that he will give me the brush-off. any thoughts as to how i might approach him in a non-threatening manner & perhaps get him to consider our alternatives? i am, by the way, trying to find a midwife with experience in this area. i'm in los angeles. any suggestions?

I am so excited to see this thread because I've also been thinking a lot about this lately. Some other ideas I had:
- Start with Mothering Magazine. Since they are already focused on being more natural, I thought it would be a great place to talk about natural methods vs surgery. Also, I recently noticed that the publisher/editor, Peggy O'Mara, wrote a quote on Christine's new book. So, I am planning to send them a suggestion that I'd like to see this type of article. Maybe a few others could too.
- Last summer, I got an invite from our local "Stroller Strides" group about a talk at a physical therapists office about postpartem pelvic floor issues and how to help them naturally. I wasn't able to attend, so I don't know how the turn-out was, but I'm thinking that maybe some groups where new mom's tend to be (like Stroller Strides) is another option.
- I also talk to anyone I know about this. I was amazed that at a recent gathering with some 40 year old or so mom friends that I hadn't seen in a while, when I brought it up, while none of them were as prolapsed as me, almost all of them have some sort of issue - incontinence when sneezing, incontinence if they go on a jumpy or trampoline with their kids, etc. Once we got going, everyone was happy to talk about it. None of them were really working on or knew about any solutions though. It's crazy that we know so much about taking care of our teeth and hair, and not this very important part of our body!

That's my quick ideas for the morning. I'll try to think of some others and write my Mothering request later today!

Carolyn

Carolyn,

I too found MANY of my friends and family have issues of some sort relating to prolapse, and incontinence. It has been quite amazing to me!

My own sister admitted to me that she has not been able to run at all since her first baby, (she has four), ELEVEN years ago!!!! She gets quite bad stress incontinence. She also says things seem "loose" down there. A friend of hers also has really bad SI. Encouragingly she was told by a surgeon in the UK to avoid the surgeries at all costs. He said they don't work and will make things worse in the long run. She has had success with PT.

I think chatting to others about this has helped me to heal so much emotionally, and hopefully to spread the word about all that can be done to prevent others from being so afraid and uninformed.

However, then there is the other extreme. A friend of mine recently requested an elective C- section to deliver her first child, partly after hearing about my experiences. To be fair she is phobic about Drs and "people looking down there" as well, but I certainly did not want to have this kind of affect on someone. However I may feel about her choices, I am in no way trying to stand in judgement over her as she has this baby. I am though more than a little alarmed that my experiences could have had such a profound affect on her despite my reassurance and encouragement. Her Dr agreed to this, (why does that not surprise me), but her insurance company did not. I guess they don't want to dish out the extra cash for the C- section. I will be interested to see what happens as she says she will refuse to push when the time comes, despite me gently telling her that really it is unlikely that her body will give her any choice. (Mind you, that probably depends on a whole host of other factors such as epidural etc)! EEESHERS!

This seems to be such a delicate issue really all round doesn't it! :)

I just emailed a request for a prolapse article or a review of Christine's book to Mothering Magazine! It sure gave me a good feeling just to send the request off and feel like I'm putting that energy into the universe!

Judy M

I'm new here--who is Christine and how do I find out about her book?

Judy M

Was e-mailed the site with the book and ordered it. Thanks.

Judy